3/8/13

It really hurts my heart as a transgender woman and as a human being whenever I hear stories like this one from The Advocate. If you don’t feel like clicking through to the link, first of all shame on you for being lazy! Secondly, let me tell you about it in a nutshell. It’s another dreadful case of injustice against the gays! Oh yes, because we never hear enough about that, do we? Luke O’Donovan was arrested after being involved in a New Year’s Eve scrap a couple months ago. A bunch of gay-bashers allegedly chased him down a hill and stabbed him after provoking him with gay slurs. He defended himself and now he’s the one in jail?! Someone please tell me where the sense in that lies? And while we’re on the subject, tell me why this sort of story rings true in so many other cases involving LGBT youths who’ve had enough and decide to fight back? Young, transgender woman Cece McDonald, for instance. In case you’re not familiar with Ms. McDonald’s story...she and her friends were verbally and physically attacked in June of 2011 by a group of racist bigots and in defending herself against the ringleader, Cece ended up killing him with a pair of scissors. She was sent to a men’s prison...essentially for defending herself against a hate crime.

Why is it that the LGBT community can’t seem to catch a break when it comes to hate crimes? If we depend on law enforcement to help us out, we’re ignored due to the intrinsic homophobia that often exists within such a straight male-dominated structure. If we defend ourselves, we end up in prison. And if we don’t do anything at all...we die. That would all be fine and good for people who aren’t connected to the young kids who end up getting screwed over no matter what they do, but it isn’t fair. Equally unjust is the lack of attention paid to cases like this by the mainstream media. So, if they won’t make noise for us, we have to make noise for ourselves. I never encourage violence, but sometimes things happen that are out of our control and we act in the way we feel is most necessary at the time, we shouldn’t be punished for this and we most definitely should not be silenced or forgotten. Support your fellow LGBT brothers and sisters, don’t turn your backs because if we don’t support one another, no one will.

For letters of support or donations to Luke O’Donovan, please go here.